We saw an amazing play yesterday. “In The Red and Brown Water” by Tarell Alvin McCraney is a rich, surprising, and moving play. It is the first part of his trilogy of plays, the “Brother/Sister Plays.”

McCraney chronicles the life and decisions of Oya, a star runner and daughter in the anonymous “projects” of Louisiana. She declines a college scholarship for her running to stay with her mother who soon dies. Then her life slides along a rough and surprising road of decisions, both deliberate and accidental, resulting in a shocking end to her search for love, her desire to leave her “mark” on the world.

The characters all have names of Yoruba deities and they often speak their own stage directions, giving the play the feel of a religious ritual. You are literally prepared for the lines and sometimes even the facial expressions, before they emerge from the actors.

Directed by Serge Seiden, this strong and experienced cast does a remarkable job in the telling of a complex story. Raushanah Simmons plays a sympathetic and crumbling Oya. Mark Hairston is the changing and maturing Elegba. Jahi A. Hearse plays the hopeful and somber Ogun. Yaegel T. Welch portrays the funny and sleazy Shango. Denise Diggs plays a rich Mama Moja while Deidra LaWan Starnes is the hysterical Aunt Elegua. Shannon Alexandria Lillie Dorsey and Shaunte Corrina Tabb play the backup characters Shun and Nia. Michael Harris plays the greasy O Li Roon and the Man From State. Ricardo Frederick Evans rounds out the cast as the Egungun, the MC.

Performed in the round, the actors run and and out the various aisles of the theatre. They sing like a traditional Greek chorus, adding to the severity of the play, at times entirely contemporary, at times epic, almost classical.

The emotional pitch builds slowly and climaxes in the play’s final scene. Its language, timing, humor, and sadness are all alive and vibrant. Tarell Alvin McCraney has written a powerful play here, one that captures the human emotions of loss and our desire for continuity.

If given the opportunity to see one of McCraney’s plays, do not miss it. You will leave the theatre both thinking and feeling. Just what a good play should do. You can read more about this play at The Studio Theatre.

                               JosephRoss.net